Wellfleet shares earned wisdom

The town of Eastham should build only what's needed for public water but keep an eye on future needs, according to some Wellfleet officials who went through their town's development of a public water system.

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By MARY ANN BRAGG

capecodtimes.com

By MARY ANN BRAGG

Posted Jun. 19, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Jun 19, 2013 at 7:05 AM

By MARY ANN BRAGG

Posted Jun. 19, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Jun 19, 2013 at 7:05 AM

Wellfleet town water

1965: study recognizes water-quality issues downtown

Late 1980s: construction of Coles Neck system for 63 eligible properties, because of pollution of private wells near landfill...

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Wellfleet town water

1965: study recognizes water-quality issues downtown

Late 1980s: construction of Coles Neck system for 63 eligible properties, because of pollution of private wells near landfill

2003-2004: state requires five municipal buildings to get public water, for over $1 million, approved as a property tax increase

2010-11: expansion of 350 properties, approved as debt exclusion of $5.6 million but funded primarily from the federal stimulus

Fall 2013: federal grant of $1.5 million to add 76 properties

Source: town of Wellfleet; former Wellfleet officials

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WELLFLEET — The town of Eastham should build only what's needed for public water but keep an eye on future needs, according to some Wellfleet officials who went through their town's development of a public water system.

Others want to warn Eastham about the whole idea.

"Do everything you can not to have a public water system," former Wellfleet selectman and water commissioner Helen Miranda Wilson said.

At Saturday's special town meeting, Eastham voters will be asked to consider three options for public water: $114.8 million for a townwide system; $40.8 million for water and hydrants for most residents and businesses; or $5.8 million to provide water to 221 homes near the town landfill.

Neighboring Wellfleet understands the agony of the decision. There, the drive for a public water system began 25 years ago and continues as the town is now on the verge of expanding its system downtown.

The Times recently talked with six Wellfleet residents who were selectmen or on town water boards from the 1980s through the 2000s, in addition to Town Administrator Harry Terkanian and to Justina Carlson, chairwoman of the current board of water commissioners.

Among public water proponents in Wellfleet, the advice to Eastham was to come up with a well-engineered and flexible water system plan; recognize that fire hydrants could reduce individual property insurance costs; and listen to residents and give them something in return for their investment, such as new sidewalks.

From those questioning public water, the advice was to watch out for hidden costs such as pipeline maintenance; learn about the public health effects of disinfectants used by water suppliers; ask about the environmental effects of withdrawing large volumes of water from the ground; and remember the pocketbook issues of working residents.

"To me, they have to do something," former water commission co-chairman Steven Gazzano said about Eastham. "They don't have a choice. The property values are going to go nowhere. People aren't going to want to buy homes."

In Wellfleet, the first shovel for a public water system went into the ground a quarter-century ago. There, as in Eastham, the focus was on private wells contaminated by septic systems and runoff from the town landfill.

One early Wellfleet proposal was to put a sewage system in the downtown area instead of building a public water system, according to Ben Gitlow, former chairman of Wellfleet's water issues advisory committee, who began working on the problem in the 1980s.

But in 1989, talks about funding an expensive downtown public sewer system stalled. With the threat of state action over pollution from the landfill, Wellfleet completed the first section of its public water system in the Coles Neck Road area, Gitlow said. It was designed to protect about 60 private wells from contamination from the dump.

Then in 2003, under an administrative order from the state, the town extended the Coles Neck system to five public buildings. In 2009, voters approved a public water system of $5.4 million in the dense downtown area. This year, the town received a $1.4 million federal grant to provide water to another 76 properties downtown.

According to the town's 2003 water system master plan, drinking water wells and septic systems were too close together in older sections of town, leading to elevated nitrate concentrations in groundwater. In a snapshot around 2003, the downtown area had properties with between 5 and 7 milligrams per liter of nitrates and areas with more than 7 milligrams per liter, according to the plan.

Nitrates in drinking water come from fertilizer runoff, septic systems and the erosion of natural deposits, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Infants under 6 months who drink water containing nitrates in excess of the maximum contaminant level of 10 milligrams per liter can become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die, according to the EPA.

Properties that show average levels of nitrates greater than 5 milligrams per liter should be priorities, according to Wellfleet's 2003 plan.

Currently, the Wellfleet water system is operated by WhiteWater Inc., which is under contract through Aug. 1, 2015, and supervised by the five-member board of water commissioners, according to the town charter. The water commissioners are appointed by the selectmen for three-year terms.

The system has 198 connections out of 425 potential ones. So far, Wellfleet has not required properties to connect. But that has required more effort from the water commissioners to encourage connections. In 2012, the commissioners adopted a marketing plan, froze the connection fee until June 30, 2014, and reduced its budget by some 30 percent in an effort to entice more property owners.

The cost for each single-family residence to connect is $6,000 and then the homeowner pays a monthly water usage fee. Multifamily and commercial properties pay $9,600 to connect.

Since the large expansion in 2010 and 2011, the system has paid for itself, board of water commissioners chairman Justina Carlson said.

The construction connecting the five municipal buildings to water, at a cost of a little over $1 million, required a property tax increase, but the large expansion downtown was paid for with federal stimulus money and a further expansion this year will be paid for by a federal grant.

"It's working," Carlson said. "We are continuing to build a viable system in an era of financial austerity. We are continuing to move water forward."

Even if the public water in Wellfleet is working, it's important to go slowly, some former officials said.

"My argument all along is that it's not a question of whether or not we need water," former Wellfleet selectman and water commissioner Dale Donovan said. "The question is how big a system and who pays. If I were in Eastham, I'd be arguing for a system that can meet the (state regulator) concerns and make sure that what they build they can expand. Keeping it flexible for the future is exceedingly important."

Another former water commissioner agreed.

"I don't know the specifics of the Eastham problem and how extensive it is, but in Wellfleet, we took the approach of taking care of the immediate problem with enough capacity if those problems change," said Moe Barocas, who was a water commissioner as the town moved toward the large expansion downtown in 2010 and 2011.

But former Selectman Peter Hall questioned the whole concept of public water.

"I just feel it's completely unnecessary," Hall said, especially in comparison with models he has seen in his travels in Europe.

"I'm advocating, if your (well) water is somewhat high in nitrates, buy water for cooking and drinking and use your well water for the rest of it. If you're in Europe, you go in the restaurant you get bottled water. It's accepted," he said. "That's just the way it operates. You don't make a practice of drinking water out of the tap."